The Lizardman who had been his opponent bared his teeth and stepped forward, raising a clawed hand. I readied my great dagger, and Yoh pulled out his Astral Adapter. The creature hissed something at Balmur, who nodded and held his hand out. The two shook and walked away from each other.
“What did he say?” I asked.
“That he hopes eating me will raise his accuracy.”
The next competition was the strength competition. Of course, Jaken stepped into the arena. The standard was a log toss; whoever threw the thing the farthest would win. The log weighed two hundred twenty pounds, was thick, and about five feet long.
A body-builder-looking Lizardman, seven feet tall and easily more than three hundred pounds, stepped forward. His large muscles bulged as he picked his log up and tossed it nine feet. Jaken stepped up to his—his armor would have gotten in the way so it had been taken off—and squatted down. He gripped the base of the log, took a deep breath, and heaved with all his might. Veins bulged in his arms, and I could hear the wood of the log splinter a bit in his grip as it lifted and sailed into the air—only to land nine feet away. The Lizardman was beside himself, and he challenged Jaken to personal combat, to which the chieftain said no outright. The battle would come later. Then we would die.
Right.
The competition couldn’t be a draw, according to the chieftain. So we had to come up with another way to settle it. Another log toss? Nah, fuck that. They got to choose that shit.
“Hey, Jaken, you remember how to play mercy?” I asked slyly.
He grinned, and then we began the process of explaining it to the chieftain. Well, Bokaj did. He was the sweet talker in the group with his higher charisma score.
“The rules are very simple,” he assured her. “All the competitors do is interlock fingers like Zekiel and James are doing.”
We demonstrated slowly, our palms pressed together and our fingers interlocked with both hands.
“Someone says go, and then you try to push or squeeze the other person’s hands into a painful position that will make them give up. The person who says mercy or stop or something to that effect wins.”
James clenched his fingers together and pushed forward with his hands quickly.
I feigned pain and said, “Mercy!” to signal that he had won.
The Lizard Chief considered this, and she addressed her chosen competitor to see what he thought. He seemed to understand the premise, but he did have her ask some questions.
“You can bite, kick, knee?” she asked on his behalf. We shook our heads and pointed to our hands.
“It’s just the hands. You can do almost anything you like with the hands, but no other body part is involved,” Jaken explained. “Also, you can’t let go. If you let go, it means you lost.”
The tall Lizardman considered this and nodded his consent.
Jaken and his opponent squared up to each other, and Jaken held his hands out with his fingers to the sky. The Lizardman pushed his large fingers through the other creature’s and clasped them loosely. He looked uncomfortable with the contact but otherwise just glared at Jaken.
The chieftain looked at her warrior, then Jaken, and announced loudly, “Begin!”
Jaken and the Lizardman’s fingers tightened, and bones popped. Both men grunted in pain, but neither looked to want to stop. The Lizardman pushed his hands forward, and Jaken let his wrists give way slightly. The Lizardman gritted his teeth and attempted to press his perceived advantage, but Jaken just smiled.
Jaken twisted his hands out, tucked his elbows tight to his body, then pushed his hands forward with his knuckles facing the ground. The Lizardman grunted harder and tried to save himself from the move, but Jaken began to physically lift his opponent off his feet. I looked and saw that blood was dripping from his hand—the Lizardman’s claws had dug into his skin.
Sweat began to bead on Jaken’s brow as he clenched his fists.
“Thisss isss good?” the chieftain asked Bokaj pointing to what was happening.
“He’s only using his hands and strength,” he answered honestly. “According to the rules that you agreed to, it’s fine.”
She didn’t look pleased but remained silent. Jaken groaned, more blood dripping from his hands. His opponent began to smile and then whipped his arms out to the side to mirror what Jaken had done. He lifted our friend off his feet into the air and began to kind of juggle him in his grip. He was shimmying Jaken. Jaken’s grip loosened, and he eventually let go because he couldn’t hang on anymore.
The Lizardman raised his bloody claws into the air and bellowed to his clansmen. He lifted his fingers to his maw and dragged his tongue across the blood-stained claws while looking at Jaken.
“It’s cool, man,” I said with a pat on his back. He glowed golden for a second, and I watched the skin on the back of his hands begin to mend and knit back together.
Next came the magic portion to the competition. Contestants would each attack a level 10 Bog Crocodile of their own that had been tied and hung from poles. Whoever finished their target first won. The angry creatures struggled futilely by snapping jaws, hissing, and spitting vehemently. The Village Shaman level 16 came forward; his scaled skin hung in wrinkles, but his yellowed eyes were sharp and bright. He scuttled slowly to his indicated spot next to Yohsuke.
Once the signal was given, Yoh cast his first spell, an Astral Bolt. The black bolt sailed straight into the Crocodile’s eye, gouging it out in a burst of visceral gore. Then he threw a Star Burst that, by some miraculous chance, landed in the now furiously struggling creature’s injured eye. The spell released and spattered grey matter all over the surroundings. The shaman hadn’t even finished his first spell and, due to his distraction by the burst of pure mana his opponent cast, dropped in agony from spell recoil.
Jaken cast a healing spell on him with a wave of his hand, and the anguished look spawning on his face stopped. The Lizardman fell into a restful state. A healer from the Lizardmen came to inspect him, then nodded to the chieftain.
The speed contest was a no brainer. Our Monk pulled out all the stops, testing his speed against the same Lizardman who had thrown against Balmur. The course was short—three laps around the little island we were on. It wasn’t that much of a run—more of a sprint, really—and we all thought James had this easily. Turns out the scaled bastard was a lot faster on his feet than he was throwing knives because he actually won the race, even though it was really by a nose. Seriously. The bastard ran, and when it looked like he was going to lose, he stuck his damn neck out to gain the last few inches.
We patted James on the back, trying to let him know it was okay. He just shrugged it off and stared at his former opponent angrily.
Finally, it was time for the battle portion. The circle in the center of the isle took up a good amount of space, no one eager to be too close to the contestants. I entered the ring as the last person in our party who could compete, and a new Lizardman entered opposite me, his level at 16. He wasn’t as big as Jaken’s opponent nor slight of build like the one who had gone against Balmur and James. He was well muscled and looked strong. Competent. He entered the ring unarmed and squared himself up to me. The chieftain explained the rules.
“Thisss fight will be to the death,” she explained to all gathered around us. “You use what weapon you have at your disposssal, no magic, and no familiarsss.”
The Lizardman looked at the weapon I had at my belt—my great dagger—and smirked. He hissed at the crowd, who did their hissing laugh, and someone tossed a spear into the ring for him to use. He picked it up and showed it to me, to which I shrugged and equipped my great axe. His eyes went a little wide, and he bared his sharp fangs at me. I smiled back and motioned to Balmur and the chieftain. While Balmur stepped over to me, I planted my axe in the ground by its head and stepped up to the Lizardman with purpose. The chieftain joined us.
“Will you translate for me, my lady?” I asked, and she nodded, clearly puzzled. “Balmur, you just be sure the m
essage gets across.” He nodded, and I looked back to my opponent.
“Where I come from, to some of the greatest warriors, it is the ultimate honor to die in battle. The gods will smile upon us this day, and the victor, tell tales of the fallen one’s glories. May you fight well and know that I harbor you no ill will. May your death take you to your promised land or me to mine.”
I waited for the chieftain to finish relaying what I had said, and Balmur confirmed she had gotten the gist of it across. I held my hand out to shake his hand and waited. The Lizardman looked at me quizzically, then nodded once before grasping my forearm firmly. He spoke, and Balmur translated.
“I will honor you with a good death and send you to your gods so that I may feed my people. It is my hope that your spirit will carry with it great power and nourish our bodies and spirits well. Fight with honor, die in glory.”
My grip tightened at his words, and I smiled again before letting his forearm go. I stepped back to my weapon and patted my friend’s shoulder. I had neglected for a while to put points into my weapon skills, so I had done it the night before, tinkering and applying my points where I thought best. I had some new abilities to use, and I was excited to get started. I had upped my proficiency with great axes to the second level and it gave a three percent increase to damage, and I’d also gotten two more skills with the two points I had left.
Charge – Allows the user to close the distance to an opponent of up to thirty feet away. Cool down: 30 seconds
Feather Axe – Lowers the weight of the weapon used by two thirds. (Current weapon weight 30Ibs; will now be 10Ibs) Duration: 10 minutes. Restriction: Weapon must be a great axe. Cool Down: 15 minutes.
The chieftain looked to her fighter, who nodded, then to me. I grinned savagely as I plucked my great axe from the ground. I nodded to show I was ready, and then she dropped her hand to signal a start.
I activated Feather Axe, then Charge, and the fight began in earnest. I swung my axe a lot faster than even I was expecting, and it left me off balance. Instead of the metal head hitting my target, the haft near it did. The Lizardman used that small strike and the opening it left to maneuver quickly and took a stab at my exposed right flank. I used the momentum of my swing to dive into a forward shoulder roll and got out of the way. He just barely missed me, and I felt the wind near my tail. Popping up onto my feet, I sprang as high forward as I could and activated Devil’s Hammer. The attack connected but didn’t take, and he used the opportunity to slash with his spear. My health dropped ten percent, and I growled in anger. I took a step back and took a breath. I swung my great axe a few times to get used to the weight and then refocused on my opponent.
He was craftier than the average enemy and good with his spear. He was quick, too, able to dodge my attacks easily enough. An idea began to form in my mind, and I decided to go with it. I choked up on the haft with my right hand and lowered my left like I would for a more controlled, wider swing and strode forward with purpose.
A few feet out, he jabbed at my chest with the spear, but I knocked it out of the way and began to swing in an exaggerated diagonal chopping motion. He did what I thought he would and dodged to my right. Instead of committing to the attack with the axe, I spun and bashed my left fist into the side of his head, then stabbed the spike of the axe into his thigh. His health dropped fifteen percent, and he was forced to take a knee. Next, I put a new spin on an old trick and activated Cleave before leaping into the air a good six feet. I used Wind Scythe, and the axe nailed the Lizardman on the back of his neck and whistled through, decapitating him. The axe continued its downward travel and sliced through his bent leg and thunked dirt, blood seeping from the wounds. The body thudded against the haft of my axe and slid to the side on to the ground.
I landed next to my axe and pried it from the ground. The force of the throw must have been increased due to how light the weapon had been. That would mean a new combo if I played this right. I would definitely be playing with a few ideas that popped into mind at that second.
The crowd around me began to hiss and snarl—a few even wept—but I ignored them. I put my axe into my inventory and bent down to gently lay my opponent’s head on his chest, then lifted his lifeless body into my arms. I walked slowly up to the chieftain who had a look of controlled anger on her reptilian face.
“Where may I take his body, so that it can be prepared for whatever your last rites are?” I asked softly.
“We eat dead, if we can, to pressserve ssspirit and ssstrength of fallen.”
“Then where should I take him?”
“To big fire.” She led the way to the bonfire we had seen in their village’s center.
Once we arrived, two Lizardmen took the body away reverently. Once they had gone, the chieftain stepped forward and cast a spell to light the fire. It burst to life, and she said something to her villagers. Promptly, a dozen armed guards stepped forward and grabbed Jaken and James.
My party wasn’t having any of that, so we all brought our weapons out ready to fight. Kayda took to the air, and lightning began to arc from her feathers.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Bokaj shouted. He was now standing in front of the chieftain with his bow drawn and trained on the guard with a spear to Jaken’s throat.
“We take thossse who did not win and eat flesh,” she explained as if it made total sense. “We agreed thisss.”
“No, we said that the winners went free,” Bokaj retorted.
“And they are. They won, they go.” She pointed at my two captured friends. “They no win, they ssstay.”
“We won three of the five competitions,” Bokaj persisted. “Our group won. Let them go.”
“Not what wasss sssaid.” She smiled sweetly, her fangs looking deadlier. “They die. They pay for all your sssinsss.”
“Look, you saw what we are capable of,” I said, trying to be the voice of reason, “and that was limited by the rules you put forth. Do you really want to see what we can do without rules? What kind of magics my friends and I can perform? Not to mention, one of our stronger team members, who didn’t even take part.”
“King?” She laughed her hissing laugh and pointed at him. “He no fight. He isss mine.”
“If you hurt my friends, I’ll kill you myself.” Bokaj had an arrow nocked and pointed at her instantly. Tmont stood in front of him protectively. “They are that important to me.”
“You dare threaten me?” she cried incredulously. “I ssshould have you killed, too!”
“Bring it, bitch,” he said softly. The arrow he had drawn began to glow white hot, then burst into flame. “Let them go, now, and all this stops. No more of your people need to die. Leave the forest alone, and we will leave you alone. I give my word.”
The chieftain seemed to think about it for a moment, then sighed. She raised her hand to her guards and signaled to let our friends go.
“We can be friends, chieftain,” I offered. This was beginning to sound like an awkward break up. “Just leave the forest alone, and we never need to turn our attentions on you for ill again.”
“We need wood from foressst. We need meat from foresst. What will we do without?”
“Maybe if you can spark some trade between yourself and the Dryads, they will help give you wood and meat?” offered Balmur.
She agreed to at least try and foster a deal but not until the next day. That night, after the body was appropriately prepared, everyone ate a piece of the Lizardman. I had battled in his memory.
They offered some of the meat to us, as a way to share in their tradition of passing on strength. Bokaj, Jaken, and Balmur looked a little green under the gills at the idea of eating someone else, even though it was cooked well.Yohsuke, James, and I just did what Marines do best—eat weird shit in country. The meat was tender and a little fishy, but otherwise, it was bearable. Balmur interpreted for us when the shaman said that it was a great insult to refuse the sacrifice of the fallen, and knowing it could result in what we had just be
en able to narrowly avoid, the others choked back the offering.
The morning after, we all gathered and went to the Dryads. There was some tense bargaining, but Bokaj eventually got the two to reach an agreement—the Lizardmen would hunt the animals that harmed the trees for meat and bring fresh manure and other nutritious foliage from the swamps for the trees. In return, the Dryads would give them wood.
That ended with us completing our quest by turning it in. We had killed forty Lizardmen altogether which gave us eight hundred EXP a piece. We even got a reward from a secret quest.
Unite Two Peoples – You’ve brought two formerly hostile people together, where before they wanted to kill each other. Isn’t life weird? Reward: 200 EXP and +2 to Charisma.
That put all of us up a good way toward leveling up. At level 15, we needed a good deal more experience to level. Two thirds of the way there, though, was not bad at all.
We took our leave of the two groups, bidding them farewell and almost having to sneak our Ranger away due to a distraught chieftain.
We went south out of the bog lands, toward the monastery where James had received his training. When asked what they had for us that was so important, he simply replied with, “Information.” So on we went into the mountainous region.
We traveled by foot, as the land would be too tricky for a mount to traverse, and got there early the second morning.
The monastery was built into the mountainside. The halls that were visible from a distance looked like catacombs, but the place was well lit and had a large valley floor where there were huts and small buildings throughout. A section of the valley was walled off, which James explained was the Monks’ training grounds with enemies coming from an underground source of mana that streamed them out every new dawn. It wasn’t a dungeon, per the Monks’ telling, but a blessing from their deity, a place they could channel their monastic abilities safely and learn to combat the darkness.
Into the Light (Axe Druid Book 1) Page 22